Philetus phillips



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

PHILETUS PHILLIPS, OF MIDDLE-TOWN POINT, NEW JERSEY.

MUSICAL NOTATION.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 14,970, dated May 27, 1856.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, PHILETUs PHILLIPS, of Middletown Point, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Art of Musical Notation; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and eXact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

I represent the seven primary notes in music by seven lines which are used in forming the staff, each of which is different, and readily distinguishable from every other. These lines are shown at Figure 1, and are numbered l, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. If the syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, be applied to the sounds of the octave, the lowest note, or do, when not occupying a space, is invariably on No. l, re, (or the second note,) on No. 2,

mi, on No. 3, &c., ascending thus through' the series, in the same order as shown in the figure. Five of the said lines with the four intervening spaces, form a staff, for which purpose I take the alternate lines. The notes in the spaces, are readily known from the lines above and below. Leger lines on the same principle may be added when necessary.

If the lowest line of the staff be No. 3, the second will be No. 5, the third No. 7, the

fourth N o. 2, and the fifth No. 4, which is the natural scale as shown at Fig. 2. In the scale of two sharps as at Fig. 8, the lowest line is 2, andithe others 4, 6, 1, 3. In Fig. 4, (a tune ywith one flat) vthe lowest line is 7, then 2, 4, 5, l. No. l, at the bottom, would be three sharps, or four flats, No. 4, at do, twoiats, No. 5, at do, three Sharps, No. 6, at do, one sharp.

Thus it may be seen that every possible transposition of the scale may be effected, by placing successively each of the several lines for the lowest in forming the staff.

The advantage claimed for the improvement is this. The position of the notes both on the natural, and transposed scales is ascertained at a glance, and they are read without any study ory perplexity, by the peculiar character of the line on which each particular note is written.

WhatfI claim as my invent-ion, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The use of a line of a distinct character on which to write each elementary note and the transposing of such lines in the manner above described, to effect and denote the different transpositions of the scale.

PHILETUS PHILLIPS.

Attest:

BENJAMIN GRIGGS, GARDINER FRANCIS BRowNE. 

